Home automation communications

ABSTRACT

A system mobile computing device is at a first geographic location different from a second geographic location of a customer premises. The mobile computing device is configured to receive from the customer premises information including data indicating a status of the customer premises and an identifier for the customer premises. The device is further configured to receive user input to place an emergency call concerning the customer premises, to provide the identifier for the customer premises to a data store as part of a query for a location of the customer premises; to receive a response to the query including the second location, and send a request for a public safety answering point (PSAP) to request emergency services at the second location.

BACKGROUND

So-called home automation systems generally include sensors, cameras,and the like that provide data to a computing device such as a centralcontroller. The central controller may then provide information relatingto events, the environment, and so forth, in a building such as a home.For example, a home automation system may detect temperature conditions,moisture conditions, smoke and/or fire conditions, possible break-ins,etc.

In some instances a home automation system may be configured toautomatically request emergency services upon detecting certainconditions, e.g., to call “911” emergency services or the like upondetecting a fire, possible break-in, etc. In other instances, some orall conditions reported by a home automation system may require a userdecision and action to request emergency services.

When a user is present in a building, apartment, suite, etc. thatincludes a home automation system, the user can act on information fromthe home automation system as appropriate to seek emergency services,e.g., by dialing an emergency service, e.g., a “911” service. However,at present emergency services are geographically-dependent, andmechanisms are lacking for a user to request emergency services relatedto information from a home automation system when a user isgeographically remote from a location that includes the home automationsystem, possibly even in a different city, state, or country.

SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary home automation communicationssystem.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary process for initiating an emergencycall via a home automation system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary process for making an emergency callfrom a customer premises.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an exemplary process for making an emergency callfrom a server remote from a customer premises to a public safetyanswering point (PSAP).

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an exemplary process for making an emergency callfrom a user device remote from a customer premises to a public safetyanswering point (PSAP).

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary graphical user interface for reporting apossible emergency incident via a remote device.

FIG. 7 illustrates a further exemplary graphical user interface forreporting a possible emergency incident via a remote device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Introduction

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary home automation communicationssystem 100. As seen in FIG. 1, the system 100 generally includes acustomer premises 105. Further, the system 100 could, and typicallydoes, include many customer premises 105, although only a singlecustomer premises 105 is shown in FIG. 1 for ease of illustration. Thecustomer premises 105 may include a home automation gateway 110 forcommunicating via a network 115 with a remote device 130. The gateway110 may be connected to a home automation controller 120 that receivesand interprets data from one or more data collectors 125, e.g., as shownin FIG. 1, a carbon monoxide detector, a smoke detector, a video orstill camera, etc. When data from one or more of the data collectors 125indicates an emergency or alert condition in the customer premises 105,the controller 120 may provide a message via the gateway 110 to one ormore remote devices 130.

A device 130 that is geographically remote from the customer premises105 may be used to make a request for emergency services, e.g., atelephone call to an emergency call center or service provider, via avariety of mechanisms. Advantageously, even though the device 130 isgeographically remote from the customer premises 105, the request foremergency services may include a location of the customer premises 105,i.e., specify that emergency services are requested at the location ofthe customer premises 105, and not the geographically remote location ofthe device 130. The remote device 130 generally includes a processor anda memory, and the memory may store instructions executable by theprocessor to place a call, e.g., using Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP).

Certain known mechanisms for making emergency calls may be used in thecontext of the system 100. In general, as is known, an emergency “911”call may be made from a telephone in a customer premises 105 using theso-called plain old telephone service (POTS), which generally uses apublic-switched telephone network (PSTN). For present purposes, theterms “POTS” and “PSTN” may be used interchangeably.

Known signaling mechanisms may be used by a PSAP or the like when anemergency call is made to provide a phone number from which a call ismade, e.g., using Automatic Number Identification (ANI) in an advancedintelligent network (AIN) as is known. Further, as is known, a location,e.g., street address, of a POTS telephone from which an emergency callis made may be determined, e.g., the PSAP may use a number obtained viaANI to then identify a location from which a call originated using theknown Master Street Address Guide (MSAG). Additionally, a request foremergency assistance generally includes an identification of a problemso that an appropriate emergency responder, e.g., Police Department,fire department, ambulance, etc., may be contacted and requested toprovide assistance. Mechanisms for a controller 120 or the like toinclude information identifying a problem type, e.g., fire, possiblebreak-in, etc., are known.

Furthermore, a so-called “Enhanced 911,” or “E-911” service may be usedto provide emergency calling for mobile, e.g., cellular, phones. AnE-911 service accounts for a major difference between a mobile telephoneand a POTS telephone, namely that a mobile telephone does not have afixed location, and therefore a database such as the MSAG cannot beusefully consulted to obtain a mobile telephone location. Accordingly,an E-911 message includes, in addition to information for determining anoriginating telephone number, a location record. The location record inan E-911 may be in one of two formats, a street address according to aformat of the MSAG, or a Global Information Service (GIS) location,i.e., geo-coordinates including a latitude and longitude. As is known, amobile telephone location may be obtained via a variety of mechanisms,e.g., triangulation using relative signal strength from three or morecell towers, Global Positioning System (GPS) functionality in a smartphone, etc., which location information may be then mapped to a streetlocation, e.g., by a PSAP.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls, like calls made by a mobiletelephone using an E-911 service, must specify a location to a serviceprovider, e.g., a PSAP, to which an emergency call is made. Accordingly,when a VoIP service is established in a customer premises 105, a VoIPtelephone may be configured to provide a location when an emergencycall, e.g., a 911 call, is placed.

Advantageously, as mentioned above, the system 100 includes a capabilityfor a remote device 130 to initiate an emergency call specifying alocation of a customer premises 105, rather than a location of theremote device 130. Accordingly, a remote device 130 may be configured torequest emergency assistance for a customer premises 105 even when theremote device 130 is at a physical location outside the boundaries ofthe customer premises 105.

For example, the device 130 may be configured to use VoIP to make a callto a home automation server 135, geographically remote (i.e., at adifferent physical location) from each of the customer premises 105 andthe device 130 via the network 115. The call may be made according to aknown communications protocol, e.g., Session Initiation Protocol (SIP),or the like. Further, the device 130 may include, e.g., in a SIP INVITEmessage or the like, information identifying the customer premises 105.

In an exemplary implementation, the gateway 110 is configured to providea media access control (MAC) address or some similar unique orsubstantially unique identifier or identifiers associated with thecustomer premises 105, e.g., an identifier of the gateway 110 and/or thecontroller 120. Upon receiving a message including the gateway 110and/or other customer premises 105 identifier, the server 135 may submita query to a home automation data store 150 to determine a public safetyanswering point (PSAP) 145 associated with the geographic location ofthe customer premises 105. The database 150 generally includes locationinformation and/or an identifier for a PSAP associated with the gateway110 identifier, along with information relating to the PSAP, such as itstelephone number. Alternatively or additionally, the database 150 couldinclude customer premises 105 location information, e.g., a streetaddress or geo-coordinates, associated with a mobile telephone number.Upon receiving PSAP information from the data store 150, the server 135may then place a telephone call to the PSAP 145 associated with thecustomer premises 105.

In a further alternative or additional exemplary implementation, theremote device 130, upon receiving a message, alert, etc., from a gateway110, could be configured to return an instruction to a computing device,e.g., the controller 120, in the customer premises 105 via the gateway110, to place a call to the PSAP 145 for the customer premises 105. Forexample, the customer premises 105 could include hardware and/orsoftware, e.g., included in or attached to the controller 120, orseparate hardware and/or software (not shown in FIG. 1) for makingtelephone calls via a VoIP or public switched telephone network (PSTN)service. Further, a computing device such as the controller 120 could beconfigured to cause an emergency call to be made via a VoIP and/or PSTNtelephone service provided to the customer premises 105. A VoIP service,as is known, may be configured to provide identifying information to aPSAP 145 and/or to place calls via the PSTN, e.g., via a media gateway,such as is known. Likewise, a call made via a PSTN is generally routedto a central office, from which an emergency call, e.g., a 911 call, maybe routed to an appropriate PSAP 145 for the customer premises 105.

Yet further alternatively or additionally, the remote device 130 may beconfigured to place a call to an existing emergency call serviceprovider service 140. The service provider service 140 could beconfigured to receive identifying information for a customer premises105 in the manner described above with respect to the server 135, toquery the data store 150, and/or to place a call to the PSAP 145.

Yet further alternatively or additionally, the device 130 could beconfigured to place a call directly to the PSAP. For example, anapplication included in a memory, and executed by a processor, of theremote device 130, could be configured to receive messages from thegateway 110 relating to the customer premises 105, and could further beconfigured to call a particular PSAP 145 appropriate for the customerpremises 105. That is, the device 130 could be configured to call aparticular telephone number of a PSAP 145 servicing a geographiclocation including the customer premises 105.

Exemplary System Elements

The customer premises 105 generally includes a building, structure, orportion thereof, including home automation elements 110, 120, 125discussed herein. For example, the customer premises 105 may be a house,condominium, apartment, or other home residence. Further, although thesystem 100 is described herein with respect to “home” automationsystems, the system 100 could include, and/or systems and/or processesdisclosed herein could be applicable to, commercial or other types ofpremises 105. Various mechanisms for communications within the customerpremises 105 are discussed below, and moreover may include variousnetworking technologies, such as a wired and/or wireless local areanetwork (LAN), Bluetooth, ZigBee, Z-wave, etc.

The gateway 110 generally includes software and/or hardware such as isknown for allowing one or more computing devices, e.g., the controller120, to communicate via a network 115. In general, when communicationsto and from the controller 120 are described herein, it is to beunderstood that such communications generally occur via the gateway 110,which is communicatively coupled to the network 115.

In general, the network 115 represents one or more mechanisms forproviding messages, telephone calls, and the like to and from thegateway 110. Accordingly, the network 115 may be one or more of variouswired or wireless communication mechanisms, including any desiredcombination of wired (e.g., cable and fiber networks) and/or wireless(e.g., cellular network, satellite network, etc.) communicationmechanisms, and any desired network topology (or topologies whenmultiple communication mechanisms are utilized). Exemplary communicationnetworks include wireless communication networks, local area networks(LAN) and/or wide area networks (WAN), including the Internet, etc. Thenetwork 115 generally utilizes digital and/or packet networkingtechnologies, but as mentioned above, the system 100 may make use of thePSTN or the like, and therefore the network 115 may further at least inpart include such analog technologies, as well as media gateways or thelike, known for allowing communications to travel between digital (e.g.,packet) and analog (e.g., PSTN or POTS) networks.

Returning to the customer premises 105, the controller 120 is generallya computing device including a processor and a memory, and also includesmechanisms for communicating with, and receiving data from, one or moredata collectors 125. For example, the controller 120 generally maycommunicate with the data collectors 125 via known mechanisms, e.g.,according to IEEE 802.11, the ZigBee protocol, the Z-Wave protocol, theBluetooth protocol, and/or a wired local area network (LAN), etc. Thecontroller 120 may be one or more various computing devices, including alaptop computer, desktop computer, dedicated home automation computer,set-top box, etc.

Data collectors 125, as mentioned above, may include one or moresensors, cameras, etc. For example, in addition to the camera, carbonmonoxide detector, and smoke detector, shown in FIG. 1, data collectors125 may include motion sensors, noise sensors, temperature sensors,moisture sensors, etc. Further, a data collector 125 may be a controlsystem or the like that is located in the customer premises 105 andconfigured to provide data to the controller 120, e.g., a homethermostat may communicate with the controller 120 to provideinformation relating to temperature settings, detected temperature, etc.

A remote device 130 may be any one of a variety of computing devicesincluding a processor and a memory, as well as communicationcapabilities as disclosed herein. For example, the device 130 will oftenbe a portable computing device such as is referred to as a “smartphone,”but more generally may be a portable computer, tablet computer, asmartphone, etc., that includes capabilities for cellular and/or VoIPcalls, communications using IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, etc. The device 130may use such communication capabilities to communicate via the network115.

In one implementation, the device 130 is configured to provide alertsrelating to medical emergencies, e.g., such devices are known for use bythe elderly, chronically ill, etc. For example, a data collector 125could be a medical alert device in which an alert could be indicatedbased on a medical alert data collector 125 wearer depressing an alertbutton or the like, or by a sensor included in the data collector 125providing data values below or above a predetermined threshold, e.g.,relating to respiration, pulse, blood pressure, etc. In the context ofthe system 100, a medical alert device 130 could be configured, on analert being indicated, to send a message to the controller 120.Alternatively, a medical alert data collector 125 could be configured tocommunicate directly with the device 130, e.g., using simple messageservice (SMS), e-mail, VoIP or the like. Data provided by a medicalalert data collector 125 to a remote device 130 could include the factthat an alert is indicated along with data such as a pulse rate,respiration rate, blood pressure, state of consciousness, etc., of amedical alert data collector 125 wearer or user. Further, a VoIPconnection could be used to allow a user of a remote device 130 to speakwith a wearer or user of a medical alert data collector 125, e.g., toascertain whether an emergency number such as an E-911 number, should becalled. In any event, on receiving data from a medical alert datacollector 125, a remote device 130 could be used to initiate an E-911call or the like as described herein.

The home automation remote server 135 may be one or more computingdevices including a processor and a memory and configured for operationsas disclosed herein. For example, the home automation server 135 may beconfigured to receive VoIP calls and/or messages from a remote device130, such calls and/or messages from the device 130 including anidentifier for a gateway 110 and/or customer premises 105. Moreover, theserver 135 may be configured to query the data store 150 and to placecalls to a PSAP 145 as described above.

The call service provider service 140 is a known entity for processingemergency calls such as 911 calls and E-911 calls. The service 140 aspresently known may receive 911 calls or the like, and forward suchemergency calls to an appropriate PSAP 145. Further, and in a novelaspect, the service 140 may be configured to receive gateway 110 orcustomer premises 105 identifying information in a call from a device130 as described above, and further to query the data store 150 and thenplace a call to an appropriate PSAP 145 as described above.

The data store 150 may include one or more databases or the like such asare known, e.g., a relational databases. The data store 150, asexplained above, generally includes information associating a customerpremises 105, e.g., via a gateway 110 identifier or the like, with aPSAP 145. Further, the data store 150 generally stores a location, e.g.,a street address and/or geo-coordinates, of a customer premises 105 inassociation with the unique or substantially unique identifier for thecustomer premises 105.

Exemplary Graphical User Interfaces

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrates an example of a graphical user interface (GUI)600 in a remote device 130 for reporting a possible emergency incident.For example, as explained above, the controller 120 may receive datafrom a collector 125 indicating a possible emergency in a customerpremises 105, e.g., sounds or images indicating a possible break-in,indications of carbon monoxide or smoke indicating a possible fire, etc.accordingly, the controller 120 could be configured to provideinformation to the remote device 130, e.g., via the gateway 110 and/orthe network 115. Upon receiving information from the controller 120, theremote device 130 could be configured, e.g., could include instructionsin the form of an “app” or the like, to display the GUI 600.

The GUI 600 may include various fields or elements, such as an alertfield 605, generally used for providing the nature of an alert and/orpotential emergency. In the example of the GUI 600, the alert relates toa “Home Alarm,” and other examples could be “Smoke Alarm,” “WaterDamage,” “HVAC Failure,” etc. A location field 610 indicates a locationof the customer premises 105 from which a controller 120 has sentinformation being displayed in the GUI 600. The location field 610 maybe particularly important where a device 130 is configured to receiveinformation from more than one customer premises 105.

A status description field 615 describes an incident and/or potentialemergency, e.g., “Glass Breakage—Living Room.” Other examples ofdescribed statuses could relate to fire, water damage, abnormaltemperatures in a customer premises, an open door, etc.

A data display field 620 may be used to display media content and/orother data provided by the controller 120 from a collector 125, e.g., astill image, a video image, etc. Further, audio content from a datacollector 125, although not displayed in a visual sense in the GUI 600,could be displayed by being played through a speaker, headphone, etc.,in the remote device 130. The media display field 620 could include amessage or indication, e.g., “audio being played from bedroom 1microphone,” that audio was being played along with a description of theaudio. Further, audio could be played along with a display of moving orstill images in the field 620.

Yet further alternatively or additionally, the display field 620 coulddisplay data from a collector 625, e.g., “smoke detected,” “living roomtemperature 50 degrees Fahrenheit,” etc. Such information transmitted bythe controller 120 could be displayed alongside or over a display ofmedia content, e.g., still or moving images, in the field 620.

Further, a display in the field 620 may be determined according to auser selection of one or more data collector selectors 625. For example,as seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, the selectors 625 allow a user to choose todisplay data such as media content from one of a plurality of availabledata collectors 125. In the example of the GUI 600, the available datacollectors 625 are cameras at various locations in the customer premises105.

An emergency call field 630 provides input and output related to anemergency call. For example, as seen in FIG. 6, a user may provide inputto call an emergency number such as 911. As seen in FIG. 7, the field630 may be used to display information about a status of an emergencycall, e.g., that the call is in progress, a telephone number beingprovided with a request for emergency service in the emergency call(generally a number associated with the remote device 130) etc. Althoughnot shown in the Figures, the field 630 could further display otherstatuses of an emergency call, e.g., “a dispatched,” “unable to locateaddress,” etc.

Exemplary Process Flows

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an exemplary process for initiating an emergencycall via a home automation system. The process 200 begins in a block205, in which the controller 120 in a customer premises 105 performshome automation monitoring in a conventional manner, e.g., as describedabove. For example, as described above, data collectors 125 may providedata to the controller 120, which may then evaluate such data accordingto predetermined parameters to determine whether a potential alert oremergency condition exists.

Next, in a block 210, the controller 205 determines whether an alertcondition exists, e.g., a data value from a collector 125 is above orbelow a predetermined threshold, e.g., for temperature, noise, presenceof carbon monoxide, etc. If no alert condition exists, the process 200returns to the block 205. If an alert condition exists, then a block 215is executed next.

In the block 215, the controller 120 generates an alert message, e.g., aVoIP call, to be sent to one or more devices 130. Alternatively, thecontroller 120 could send a message to the home automation server 135,which in turn could communicate with the one or more devices 130. In anycase, for example, a memory of the controller 120 may store informationidentifying a device 130 and mechanisms for sending a message to thedevice 130, e.g., a cellular telephone number or other identifyinginformation for a device. Further, the controller 120 may provide amessage, e.g., in one or more conventional data packets, providinginformation relating to the alert, e.g., information such as shown inthe GUI 600 identifying an address of the customer premises 105,describing an alert or emergency condition, and possibly providing datafrom a data collector 125 either by default or in response to user inputas discussed above with respect to the GUI 600. As also discussed abovewith respect to the GUI 600, exemplary content of a message from thecontroller 120 to a device 130 could include images, sound, data valuessuch as temperatures, humidities, etc. Accordingly, the message providedin the block 215 could include an alert code or the like, e.g., anumeric value associated with an emergency or potential emergencycondition, as well as data values such as those just mentioned, and alsoas well as media content such as audio data, image data, etc.

Next, in a block 220, the device 130 displays information from the alertor message provided by the controller 120. For example, the GUI 600 asshown in FIG. 6 illustrates one exemplary display of information by adevice 130 based on an alert or message provided by the controller 120.As discussed above, the display on the device 130 may includeinformation relating to an alert incident and/or possible emergency,along with an option for a user to initiate an emergency call such as a911 call.

Next, in a block 225, the device 130 determines whether input has beenreceived to make an emergency call. If so, the process 200 proceeds tothe block 230. Otherwise, the process 200 proceeds to a block 235.

In the block 230, the device 130 initiates an emergency call. Details ofexemplary processes by which an emergency call may be initiated andconducted our discussed below with respect to FIGS. 3-5. In general, thedevice 130 initiates a request for emergency assistance, e.g., anemergency telephone call, based not on a location of the device 130, butbased on a location of the customer premises 105 from which a controller120 alert or message was received. As further described below, after acall is initiated, the device 130 may receive further information fromthe controller 120 and/or an emergency response provider from whomemergency assistance has been requested.

In the block 235, which may follow either of the blocks 225, 230, thedevice 130 determines whether the process 200 should continue. Forexample, a device 130 could be powered off, a user could terminate anapplication configured to perform operations described herein, a usercould select an option to no longer receive communications from one ormore controllers 120, etc. If the process 200 should continue, thencontrol returns to the block 205. Otherwise, the process 200 ends.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary process 300 for making an emergencyrequest from a customer premises. For example, a user selection on adevice 130 remote from the customer premises 105 could request that anemergency request be made from the customer premises 105, e.g.,initiated by a controller 120 in the customer premises 105.

Accordingly, the process 300 begins with a block 305, in which themessage or alerts regarding an incident, emergency condition, etc., in acustomer premises 105 is received in a remote device 130, e.g., in amanner described above with respect to the process 200.

Next, in a block 310, the remote device 130 provides a display based oninformation received from a controller 120 in the customer premises 105,e.g., again, in a manner described above with respect to the process200.

Next, in a block 315, the remote device 130 receives input, e.g., via auser selection of an option provided by a field 630 in a GUI 600displayed on the remote device 130 as shown in FIG. 6, to make a requestfor emergency assistance, e.g., to make a 911 call. Upon receiving suchinput, the device 130 sends the request to the controller 120 in thecustomer premises 105 that provided the message received as describedabove with respect to the block 305.

Next, in a block 320, the controller 120 receives, from the device 130,the instruction to make a request for emergency assistance. In response,the controller 120 may place a VoIP call to a PSAP, or may send aninstruction, e.g., via a network internal to the customer premises 105,to a device within the customer premises 105 to make the call. In oneimplementation, the controller 120 or other device in the customerpremises 105 places the emergency call by using functionality of a homeautomation system to make an emergency call, e.g., as the controller 120may be configured to do. Alternatively, the device 130 could place aVoIP call to the controller 120, which could then forward the call to aPSAP 145 or the like. The controller 120 could provide the PSAP 145 withlocation information for the customer premises 105 in forwarding thecall, whereby a user of the device 130 could be in voice communicationwith an operator at emergency call service provider 140, the emergencycall service provider 140 having been provided with location informationof the customer premises 105 and not the remote device 130.

Following the block 320, the process 300 ends. However, it should benoted that, once a request for emergency services is initiated from thecustomer premises 105, and once an emergency call is connected, theremote device 130 could be configured to continue to receive informationfrom the controller 120, and the controller 120 could be configured toprovide such information. Thus, referring back to FIG. 2, in the block235 it may be determined that the process 200 should continue if suchfurther monitoring and communication is to occur. Further, thecontroller 120 could be configured to provide information, e.g., fromdata collectors 125, until an emergency call is complete, forpredetermined period of time after an emergency call has been completed,or until a user of the device 130 powers off the device 130 or providesinput to stop communications from the controller 120. Yet furtheralternatively or additionally, the remote device 130 could communicatewith the controller 120 by VoIP or the like, and the controller 120could forward an E-911 call on behalf of the remote device 130.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an exemplary process 400 for making an emergencycall from a server remote 135 from a customer premises 105 to a publicsafety answering point (PSAP) 145. The process 400 begins in a block405, executed in a manner similar to the block 305, discussed above. Theblock 405 is followed by a block 410, executed in a manner similar tothe block 310, discussed above.

Following the block 410, in a block 415, the remote device 130 sends amessage to the remote home automation server 135. For example, thedevice 130 may place a VoIP call to the server 135, including, e.g., inone or more fields of a SIP INVITE message, identifying information forthe customer premises 105 received from the controller 120 as describedabove.

Next, in a block 420, the server 135 queries the data store 135, e.g.,with the unique or substantially unique identifier for the customerpremises 105, to obtain location information, e.g., geo-coordinatesand/or a street address, for the customer premises 105.

Next, in a block 425, once location information for the customerpremises 105 has been received, the server 135 communicates, e.g.,places a VoIP call according to SIP, to a PSAP 145. Using the locationinformation for the customer premises 105, the PSAP 145 is then able toforward the communication, e.g., the VoIP call, to an appropriateemergency call service provider 140 for the location of the customerpremises 105. For example, the PSAP 145 generally includes a look-uptable or the like associating customer premises 105 locations withemergency call service providers 140.

Following the block 425, the process 400 ends. However, as was describedfollowing the process 300, it should be noted that once an emergencyservices call is initiated, the remote device 130 could continue toreceive information from the controller 120.

It should further be noted that the process 400 provides certainadvantages not realized from the process 300. For example, the process400 allows emergency calling operations to be hosted on the server 135,therefore saving the costs and difficulties of establishing suchoperations in the customer premises 105, e.g., including emergencycalling functionality in the controller 120. Further, depending on anemergency situation in a customer premises 105, a device 120 or the likemay lose power or suffer damage preventing it from completing anemergency call that may then be completed by the home automation server135.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an exemplary process 500 for making an emergencycall from a user device 130 physically remote from a customer premises105 to a public safety answering point (PSAP) 145. The process 500begins in a block 505, executed in a manner similar to the blocks 305,405, discussed above. The block 505 is followed by a block 510, executedin a manner similar to the blocks 310, 410, discussed above.

Following the block 510, in a block 515, the remote device 130 queriesthe data store 135, e.g., with the unique are substantially uniqueidentifier for the customer premises 105, to obtain locationinformation, e.g., geo-coordinates and/or a street address, for thecustomer premises 105.

Next, in a block 520, once location information for the customerpremises 105 has been received, the remote device 130 communicates,e.g., places a VoIP call according to SIP, to a PSAP 145. Using thelocation information for the customer premises 105, the PSAP 145 is thenable to forward the communication, e.g., the VoIP call, to anappropriate emergency call service provider 140 for the location of thecustomer premises 105. For example, as mentioned above, the PSAP 145generally includes a look-up table or the like associating customerpremises 105 locations with emergency call service providers 140.

Following the block 520, the process 400 ends. However, as was describedfollowing the processes, 300, 400, it should be noted that once anemergency services call is initiated, the remote device 130 couldcontinue to receive information from the controller 120. Further, aswith the process 400, the process 500 presents certain advantages notavailable from the process 300. For example, the process 500 allowsemergency calling operations to be provided by the remote device 130,therefore saving the costs and difficulties of establishing suchoperations in the customer premises 105, e.g., including emergencycalling functionality in the controller 120. Further, depending on anemergency situation in a customer premises 105, a device 120 or the likemay lose power or suffer damage preventing it from completing anemergency call that may then be completed by the remote device 130.

CONCLUSION

Computing devices such as those discussed herein generally each includeinstructions executable by one or more computing devices such as thoseidentified above, and for carrying out blocks or steps of processesdescribed above. For example, process blocks discussed above may beembodied as computer-executable instructions.

Computer-executable instructions may be compiled or interpreted fromcomputer programs created using a variety of programming languagesand/or technologies, including, without limitation, and either alone orin combination, Java™, C, C++, Visual Basic, Java Script, Perl, HTML,etc. In general, a processor (e.g., a microprocessor) receivesinstructions, e.g., from a memory, a computer-readable medium, etc., andexecutes these instructions, thereby performing one or more processes,including one or more of the processes described herein. Suchinstructions and other data may be stored and transmitted using avariety of computer-readable media. A file in a computing device isgenerally a collection of data stored on a computer readable medium,such as a storage medium, a random access memory, etc.

A computer-readable medium includes any medium that participates inproviding data (e.g., instructions), which may be read by a computer.Such a medium may take many forms, including, but not limited to,non-volatile media, volatile media, etc. Non-volatile media include, forexample, optical, flash, or magnetic disks and other persistent memory.Volatile media include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), whichtypically constitutes a main memory. Common forms of computer-readablemedia include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any otheroptical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium withpatterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any othermemory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

In the drawings, the same reference numbers indicate the same elements.Further, some or all of these elements could be changed. With regard tothe media, processes, systems, methods, etc. described herein, it shouldbe understood that, although the steps of such processes, etc. have beendescribed as occurring according to a certain ordered sequence, suchprocesses could be practiced with the described steps performed in anorder other than the order described herein. It further should beunderstood that certain steps could be performed simultaneously, thatother steps could be added, or that certain steps described herein couldbe omitted. In other words, the descriptions of processes herein areprovided for the purpose of illustrating certain embodiments, and shouldin no way be construed so as to limit the claimed invention.

Accordingly, it is to be understood that the above description isintended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments andapplications other than the examples provided would be apparent to thoseof skill in the art upon reading the above description. The scope of theinvention should be determined, not with reference to the abovedescription, but should instead be determined with reference to theappended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled. It is anticipated and intended that futuredevelopments will occur in the arts discussed herein, and that thedisclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such futureembodiments. In sum, it should be understood that the invention iscapable of modification and variation and is limited only by thefollowing claims.

All terms used in the claims are intended to be given their broadestreasonable constructions and their ordinary meanings as understood bythose skilled in the art unless an explicit indication to the contraryis made herein. In particular, use of the singular articles such as “a,”“the,” “said,” etc. should be read to recite one or more of theindicated elements unless a claim recites an explicit limitation to thecontrary.

1. A system, comprising a mobile computing device that includes aprocessor and a memory, the mobile device being at a first geographiclocation different from a second geographic location of a customerpremises, the mobile device being configured to: receive from thecustomer premises information including data indicating a status of thecustomer premises and an identifier for the customer premises; receiveuser input to place an emergency call concerning the customer premises;provide the identifier for the customer premises to a data store as partof a query for a location of the customer premises; receive a responseto the query including the second location; and send a request for apublic safety answering point (PSAP) to request emergency services atthe second location.
 2. The system of claim 1, the mobile device beingfurther configured to display information based on the message prior toreceiving user input to place an emergency call concerning the customerpremises.
 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a secondcomputing device that includes a processor and a memory, the secondcomputing device being at a third geographic location different fromeach of the first geographic location and the second geographiclocation, the second computing device configured to: receive the requestfor the PSAP to request emergency services at the second location; andforward at the request to the PSAP.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the information from the customer premises, the query tothe data store, and the request for the PSAP are provided according toVoice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
 5. The system of claim 1, the dataindicating a status of the customer premises including at least one ofaudio data, image data, a data value related to a condition in thecustomer premises, and an alert code.
 6. The system of claim 1, themobile device being further configured to display at least some of thedata indicating a status of the customer premises.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, the mobile device being further configured to receive furtherdata concerning a status of the customer premises after sending therequest for a PSAP to request emergency services at the second location.8. A system, comprising a first computing device that includes aprocessor and a memory, the first computing device being at a firstgeographic location different from a second geographic location of acustomer premises, the first computing device being configured to:receive information relating to the customer premises including dataindicating a status of the customer premises and an identifier for thecustomer premises; provide the identifier for the customer premises to adata store as part of a query for a location of the customer premises;receive a response to the query including the second location; and senda request for a public safety answering point (PSAP) to requestemergency services at the second location.
 9. The system of claim 8,further comprising a mobile computing device that includes a processorand a memory, the mobile computing device being at a third geographiclocation different from each of the first geographic location and thesecond geographic location, the second computing device being configuredto: receive from the customer premises the information relating to thecustomer premises; receive user input to place an emergency callconcerning the customer premises; and send a message to the firstcomputing device, the message including the information relating to thecustomer premises, to request a PSAP to request emergency services atthe second location.
 10. The system of claim 9, the mobile device beingfurther configured to display at least some of the data indicating astatus of the customer premises.
 11. The system of claim 9, the mobiledevice being further configured to receive further data concerning astatus of the customer premises after sending the request for a PSAP torequest emergency services at the second location.
 12. The system ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the information relating to thecustomer premises, the query to the data store, and the request for thePSAP are provided according to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). 13.The system of claim 1, the data indicating a status of the customerpremises including at least one of audio data, image data, a data valuerelated to a condition in the customer premises, and an alert code. 14.A method, comprising: receiving, at a first geographic location remotefrom a second geographic location of a customer premises, informationrelating to the customer premises, including data indicating a status ofthe customer premises and an identifier for the customer premises;providing the identifier for the customer premises to a data store aspart of a query for a location of the customer premises; receiving aresponse to the query including the second location; and sending arequest for a public safety answering point (PSAP) to request emergencyservices at the second location.
 15. The method of claim 14, comprising:receiving from the customer premises, at a third geographic locationdifferent from each of the first geographic location and the secondgeographic location, the information relating to the customer premises;receiving, at the third geographic location, user input to place anemergency call concerning the customer premises; and sending, from thethird geographic location, a message to the first geographic location,the message including the information relating to the customer premises,to request a PSAP to request emergency services at the second location.16. The method of claim 15, further comprising displaying, at the thirdgeographic location, at least some of the data indicating a status ofthe customer premises.
 17. The method of claim 15, further comprisingreceiving, at the third geographic location, further data concerning astatus of the customer premises after sending the request for a PSAP torequest emergency services at the second location.
 18. The method ofclaim 14, wherein at least one of the information relating to thecustomer premises, the query to the data store, and the request for thePSAP are provided according to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). 19.The method of claim 14, the data indicating a status of the customerpremises including at least one of audio data, image data, a data valuerelated to a condition in the customer premises, and an alert code. 20.The system of claim 9, further comprising a second mobile computingdevice that includes a processor and a memory, the second mobilecomputing device being at a fourth geographic location different fromeach of the first geographic location, the second geographic location,and the third geographic location, the second mobile computing devicebeing configured to: receive from the customer premises the informationrelating to the customer premises; receive user input to place anemergency call concerning the customer premises; and send a message tothe first computing device, the message including the informationrelating to the customer premises, to request a PSAP to requestemergency services at the second location.